| Christian Life and Doctrine | November 1975 |
“As It Was in the Days of Noah”
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the Flood came and destroyed them all.” —Luke 17:26,27
THESE words of explanation were given by Jesus to his disciples about the coming of the kingdom of God. They were initially prompted by the Pharisees who wanted to know “when the kingdom of God should come.” (Luke 17:20,21) Jesus had answered the Pharisees by explaining that the kingdom would not come with obvious signs (especially signs conjured up in their own minds) and furthermore, that they were unaware that the Royal Majesty (himself) of that kingdom was in their own midst at that very moment. So likewise it would be in the days of the Son of man when he would be present.
This same point is made by Jesus in Matthew 24. The words recorded in this chapter were in response to the private inquiry by the disciples of Jesus as to the destruction of the temple, the signs of his presence (Greek, parousia) and the end of the age (Greek, aion). (verse 3) Hence Matthew 24 is replete with many important signs, one of which is likened to “the days of Noah.” Jesus prefaced his reference to Noah’s day with this same point of unawareness, saying, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming [Greek, parousia] of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming [presence] of the Son of man be.”—Matthew 24:36-39
God’s people have been watching and waiting for his kingdom to be set up in full power and glory. But before this event can become a reality, “the end of the age” (the end of the Gospel Age, marking the end of this present evil world) must come. It is interesting to note the emphasis our Lord placed on the uncertainty of the date when he told his disciples about the signs concerning his presence and the end of the age. This would imply that we should lean more on a proper and careful interpretation of the signs.
It would be well, also, to learn more about Noah’s day. We receive much assistance from the Apostle Peter, who says much about Noah, one of five Old Testament characters mentioned by him in his two epistles. Peter’s writings reflect the struggle in his life to overcome impulsiveness, anxiety, ambition, and other weaknesses of the flesh such as afflict all of us. Hence he contrasts the things temporal with the things eternal, and supplies many valuable lessons and admonitions for the Christian, using the events of Noah’s day as an illustration.
It is more likely that we will recall Peter’s mention of Noah when the subject of baptism is broached. Peter associates Noah’s experiences with baptism. This is found in I Peter 3:18-22. In that account Peter tells of the marvelous example we have in Jesus, who was an example not only for us but also for the angelic creation, including those who were disobedient in Noah’s time and were now “spirits in prison.” He says of these, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”—I Peter 3:20,21
Here we have an allegory based on Noah and his family being carried to safety through the great Deluge. This illustration can be expanded to emphasize that the ark saved eight souls (humans) from a watery grave (and some animals, too) while others were perishing. The ark, although submerged in water (floating in water and drenched with rain from overhead), was their salvation. This “like figure” is intended to portray that the church of Christ is saved from death through baptism. This does not mean that the act of baptism in water is a means of salvation, but rather that baptism into Christ and the death of the human will and acceptance of God’s will, together with being raised into Christ, is the means of salvation.
The picture may also be intended to illustrate that the whole world is a perishing world. The members of the church were of that world until they were rescued out of it through Christ. Noah’s ark represents Christ. As Noah and his family were saved from death by obedience to God in entering the ark, so also the church is saved from death by obedience to God in consecration and baptism into Christ.
As we again carefully examine the words of our Lord in Matthew 24:36-39 the principal lesson he would teach is the one of unawareness or life-as-usual conditions prevailing during the time of his second presence. We associate evil conditions with the days of Noah, too. But Jesus does not emphasize that point in this text. We know of the evil that prevailed in Noah’s day from other scriptures, in particular the Genesis account, chapters 6 and 7.
The world was almost totally unaware of our Lord’s presence at the time of his first advent, even though he walked among them and did mighty works. John the Baptist plainly told the Pharisees, “There standeth one among you whom ye know not.” (John 1:26) The same is true today in the time of our Lord’s second presence. In spite of the many signs, there is almost total unawareness of his presence, and again it is a true saying, “There standeth one among you whom ye know not.”
Apparently our Lord’s point in mentioning Noah’s day was not only that this unawareness would prevail, but that it would prevail until a complete change would take place in earth’s social order. The life-as-usual conditions would tend to camouflage the setting up of the kingdom and, in particular, our Lord’s presence. This, too, was prophesied by the Apostle Peter, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming [presence]? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (II Peter 3:3,4) Peter then challenges the memory of these scoffers and continues, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth which are now by the same Word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”—II Peter 3:5-9.
The scoffers of these last days will have completely forgotten, or will not believe, the days of Noah and the great change in earth’s society (represented by the earth), and in the spiritual rulership (represented by the heavens). For if they would only remember, or believe, what happened in Noah’s day, they would know that today’s social order and spiritual rulership is reserved for destruction (in the fire of the great time of trouble) and will be replaced by a new social order (new earth) and a new spiritual rulership (new heavens) “wherein dwelleth righteousness.”—II Peter 3:13
In these last days of the Gospel Age and present evil world, the Lord’s people do not want to be listed with “the scoffers.” Rather, we want to be inspired by “his promise” of a glorious kingdom of righteousness, so that we strive toward “holy conduct and godliness.” So, also, all of us should be inspired by the examples of righteousness given in God’s holy Word. One of these is the example of Noah. Thus, when our Lord likens our day to the days of Noah, we should note Noah’s example when living in those days. God has used his Word with amazing efficiency to give us many lessons in a single incident. In addition to the principal lesson of unawareness in the illustration of Noah’s days, we also have the lesson of the development and separation of the Christ class in this Gospel Age. It is fitting that a righteous man, such as Noah, should represent the Christ class. Ezekiel records this testimony of him in Ezekiel 14:14 in speaking of a land that sins against God, “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they should deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.”
When Noah was born, his father, Lamech, spoke a prophecy concerning him, “This one shall give us rest from our work and from the grievous toil of our hands, by reason of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” (Gen. 5:29 Rotherham’s translation) Noah never fulfilled this prophecy. The earth has remained cursed to this day. But the Christ class, whom he represented, will fulfill the prophecy by removing “the curse” not only from the earth, but from all mankind as well. Then all men and the earth will truly be at rest. The name “Noah” means rest.
It is recorded in the 6th chapter of Genesis how the whole world of mankind became polluted by intermarriage with angelic creatures, producing a hybrid race which God never intended should have come into existence (Gen. 6:4) Noah alone remained untainted with the corruption in the earth by remaining “pure in his generation.” “Noah was a just man, and perfect [undefiled-Strong] in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” (Gen. 6:9) It is noteworthy that in addition to the life-as-usual illustration of eating and drinking in Noah’s day, Jesus should mention marrying and giving (perverse) in marriage. Marriage in Noah’s day was a very loose arrangement. Marriage has become a loose arrangement in our day, too, and we might be inclined to think that a literal fulfillment of this situation was intended by God in giving us the example of Noah’s days. A literal fulfillment is possible. However, it is more likely that Jesus was emphasizing that God’s original mandate of filling the earth through procreation would still be in effect at the time of his presence and also that marriage would be one more way of distinguishing between the Christ class and the others.
Noah was different from all others of his day because of his marriage. So, too, in the end of this Gospel Age when there has been much debasement of the sanctity of marriage, the Lord’s people are different from all others because they are pledged in marriage to the Lord. “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ,” said the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth.—II Cor. 11:2
The illustration of a bridegroom and bride for Christ and his church is used in the Scriptures to impress us with the close relationship existing between them. Likewise, in the development of the Christ class, the picture of betrothal and the patient waiting of a chaste virgin (the church) for her Lord is a fitting contrast to the course pursued by the apostate church. This marriage picture is all the more striking when we recall that one of the several reasons for our Lord’s return is the claiming of his bride in marriage.
In Noah’s day, the majority of marriages were by deception. The angels deceived many when they materialized as men. From such unholy marriages (deceptions) sprang all the trouble that followed, until the earth was corrupted because all flesh had become corrupted and violence filled the earth through them (Gen. 6:11-13), ending in the catastrophe of the great Deluge.
There is a remarkable parallelism of these events to those of the Gospel Age—and particularly at its end. The apostate church (called a harlot in Revelation 17:5) has deceived all nations by her marriage to the kings of earth. The inhabitants of earth believe that she is the true bride of Christ married to the Lord because they have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. (Rev. 17:2) As in Noah’s day, the unholy marriage of angels and daughters of men brought violence and trouble, so also this unholy marriage is responsible for the violence and trouble in the earth. As we read in Revelation 18:24, “And in her [the apostate church] was found the blood of the prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”
And as in Noah’s day it became necessary to end the violence by a catastrophe, so also violence arising from Babylon’s offspring causes the catastrophe (the great time of trouble) to become inevitable at the end of the age. Or, as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 12:1, “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” (see also Matt. 24:21) This trouble will bring an end to the present social order upon the earth and its spiritual rulers, as pictured by the earth and the heavens burning up (figurative fire), in II Peter 3:10.
Because Noah was a “just” man who walked with God, God took him into his confidence and revealed his plan to him. God also established a covenant with Noah (Gen. 6:18) and Noah did everything according to all that God “commanded him.” (Gen. 6:22) Because the church is righteous (justified), having received the merit of Christ’s sacrifice, God has revealed his plan to them and has made a covenant with them. (Ps. 50:5) The church, too, walks with God and tries to do everything God commands.
Noah’s reactions to the Lord’s instructions were immediate. He started to build the ark as instructed and became one of the heroes of faith mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. “By faith, Noah, being warned [given an intimation] of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear [filled with reverence], prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (vs. 7) Noah found himself in the midst of a faithless and perverse generation. By demonstrating his loyalty to God, he judged the world of his day through his actions, showing them that righteousness was possible. The world was overthrown and Noah became the recipient of the promises for the righteous—life in a world to follow.
The church, living in the midst of a faithless and perverse generation, as is especially true in these last days when “men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,” (II Tim. 3:1-5) also needs to demonstrate faith and loyalty to God. By so doing they will show the world that righteousness is possible. The world will be overthrown, but the church is assured of life in the world to come.
The best way for the church to demonstrate faith is to make it active. Noah made his faith a living faith by carrying out three important tasks:
(1) He built an ark.
(2) He preached righteousness by word of mouth and actions.
(3) He took his family and the animals into the ark at the required time.
Corresponding activities of the church to those of Noah would be:
(1) Studying God’s Word to learn of his plan and will.
(2) Preaching the glad tidings to all who are willing to listen.
(3) Developing “that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord,” and by so doing enter into his kingdom.—Heb. 12:14
The church is to combine attaining a knowledge of God’s Word with service for the Lord and development of character. Each of these can be illustrated by a building task wherein a test is made of the final project. Jesus used the example of building and the selection of the proper foundation as an illustration of the wise man who hears the words of the Lord and does them. (Matt. 7:24-27) Thus, when the storms of life come (the trials and testings of these last days), the house built upon rock remains, and the house built upon sand is swept away.
Another example of building is presented by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 3:10-15. Here the foundation is the same, namely, the ransom of Jesus, but the superstructure can be different. Two classes are mentioned. One builds with gold, silver, precious stones (the church class) and the other builds with wood, hay, and stubble. Fiery trials (represented by fire) are used to test the superstructure (or building), burning up the wood, hay, and stubble, but leaving more refined the gold, silver, and precious stones.
In Noah’s case, building the ark had to be precise and according to God’s instructions. Both the volume displacement of water and weight of materials were important, but so was the superstructure. The ark had to be large enough to float, strong enough to carry the animals and provisions, watertight to prevent water from entering from below, and have a superstructure that would exclude water from above. Since the ark typifies Christ, we can say that our building task in this age uses Christ as a model.
While Noah was building the ark he must have received many inquiries about his building project. This gave him an opportunity to preach about the righteousness of God. Hence he is called “a preacher of righteousness” by the Apostle Peter in II Peter 2:5. It is reasonable to expect that Noah encountered scoffers and was ridiculed because it had never rained before; the earth’s need for moisture was supplied by a constant humid condition. Hence Noah’s preaching had little effect. God set aside 120 years as a trial period before he brought destruction, and during that time Noah preached to others. However, when the time expired, Noah’s preaching had had little effect, and only Noah and his family entered the ark, with the animals selected under God’s direction.
The preaching during the Gospel Age has been equally difficult. All of the church’s preaching about the great time of trouble, God’s plan, and the coming kingdom has brought few converts. But those whom God wants transported into his kingdom through Christ will respond. Yet they cannot receive the Word of God unless there is “a preacher of righteousness” to help them.
Also, there appears to be significance in the selection of animals for the journey into the new world. The accounts of the conditions in the earth in Noah’s day are meager. The statement, “All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Gen. 6:12), could imply that conditions were so bad that God repented having made man and brute creation. It appears reasonable that while Noah was building the ark he was also assembling the animals for the journey, and that these were carefully selected. If this were so, a strange menagerie such as this could cause the people of that time to add to the ridicule, scoffing, and jeering of Noah and his family. However, there is a possible picture in the assembling of these animals for the journey.
Before considering this picture, let us first consider the creative days as an illustration of the development of the new creation. This illustration is based on the events of each creative day, from the first day when there was light (corresponding to the enlightenment of the Christian by the Word of God) to the sixth day when animal life is created (corresponding to character development, culminating in love to bind all the fruits of the spirit).
Using this latter illustration, the distinctive characteristics of each animal species selected for the journey can be likened to the development of Christian character. There is the faithfulness of the dog, the meekness of the lamb, the courage of the lion, the peace of the dove, the industry of the beaver, the gentle strength of the elephant, the patience of the ox—just to name a few. And as man was given dominion over the animals, so man represents love because love binds them all.—Col. 3:12-14
It would be a triumph for the Adversary if he were able to delude the church into believing—especially at the end of the Gospel Age—that character development is not important. The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins emphasizes this. The lack of oil represents lack of the Holy Spirit by which the fruits of the spirit are developed. It is necessary that we strive to be conformed to the image of his Son if we are to attain a place in God’s kingdom.
It might be concluded that the picture of Noah is intended to show that only a righteous few will attain God’s kingdom. But this is far from being true. The picture of Noah’s day is intended to illustrate the development of the Christ class and the end of this present evil world. Noah was like a second Adam. All mankind is descended from Adam. After the Flood they also are descended from Noah. Following the deliverance of Noah and his family Noah started a new world with his wife and three sons and their wives. This world did not become a perfect world because sin still remained. The Noah picture was intended to portray, however, how God will start a new world of righteousness through The Christ.
The true second Adam is our Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul makes this comparison in I Corinthians 15:22, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” He continues to say in the same chapter (45th verse), “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” Hence when this present evil world is ended, Jesus and his bride, the church class, will start a new world, as did Noah, and give life anew to all the world of mankind. In this world will dwell righteousness, forever and ever, with Jesus as the everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6,7) and the church as the mother of thousands of millions, even as prophesied of Rebekah (a type of the church). (Gen. 24:60) Then the curse will be removed from both man and earth.
The conclusion we should reach, therefore, is that the study of Noah’s days will not give us a date whereby we can determine when this present evil world will end, or when the church will be completed. Rather, we should expect evil to continue to the very end. Also we should expect the people to be unaware of impending disaster and the collapse of society, and to be indifferent to the very signs that encourage the Lord’s people. On the other hand, the Lord’s people should never be discouraged and not be deterred by the deteriorating conditions of the world. Rather, they should put forth all the more effort to know his plan, to preach the glad tidings, and to be conformed to the image of God’s Son. Above all, they should continue watching and praying for his kingdom until it comes and God’s will is done on earth as it is done in heaven.